A Mystery of Belief

  

“Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.” John 14:11.

 

Jesus calls us to believe in Him, He calls us to come to Him. Jesus says that He is the way, and the truth, and the life. The message of the Early Church was Jesus, the Person of Jesus Christ. A friend recently asked me, “Do we believe in Jesus, or do we believe in what we believe about Jesus?”

 

A congregational leader once said to me, “Right doctrine produces right living.” This man’s life proved his statement wrong because he was dictatorial, abrupt, abusive, and even slanderous to the congregation he was supposed to be serving. Doctrine in the mind does not necessarily translate into doctrine in the heart and soul. I have known dear brothers and sisters who may not have had the soundest doctrine, but who had lives of devotion to Jesus and others.

 

Perhaps we ought to remind ourselves of Paul’s words to the Romans, “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Rom. 14:4). Then we have, “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” (1 Cor. 4:5).

 

Jesus desires that we believe that He is in the Father and that the Father is in Him, but if we cannot see this glorious reality, Jesus says, “…otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”

 

How we believe is a mystery, and, I think, how we grow in our belief is a mystery – for God must be the Author and Completer of our faith, our belief, our destiny in Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8).

 

Are not we all in some stage of belief and growth in Jesus Christ? If this is so, then is it so strange that some of us will see that Jesus is in the Father and that the Father is in Jesus, and that others may not yet see this glorious reality? Is it so strange that some of us will see that the Trinity lives within us and that we live within the Trinity, and that others will not yet see this, our eternal destiny?”

 

Are we not often like the Ethiopian official of Acts 8, who was not really sure of what he was reading in the prophet Isaiah? Not being sure of what we’re reading can be a very good thing, it surely beats presumption. It is an especially good thing when we ask, “Just what does this mean? Just what am I reading? Just who is the prophet writing about?”

 

The Upper Room of John chapters 13 – 17 has many enigmas, many nuances to ponder, many points and counterpoints – it is a never-ending dance, onward and upward into the Trinity with one another – a dance in which the very image of “one another” envelops us in the Glory of God.

 

Learning the dance steps is a process, and the steps are progressive (2 Cor. 3:17 – 18), and Jesus is patient with us. If we can’t see that Jesus is in the Father and that the Father is in Jesus right now, Jesus says come along anyway and, “…otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”

 

Do we give others room to believe in Jesus Christ? Do we give others the freedom to grow in the mystery of belief in Jesus? Do we accept that there is, or ought to be I think, mystery in our own pilgrimage of faith in Jesus?

 

What Paul writes about in Romans 14 and 15 respecting where we are in our spiritual growth and understanding – and how we are to treat others - is about more than what we eat or drink or what days we observe, if indeed we observe any days. We are all somewhere on the journey, somewhere on the mountain; we are all (hopefully) learning new dance steps and sequences as we grow in Jesus Christ and with one another.

 

Jesus takes the measure of faith and trust we have in Him today and grows it into a greater measure tomorrow – for after all, life is about knowing Him – and since He is infinite we will forever and always being growing in Him and into Him.